Sunday, August 27, 2006

Sometime ago I was driving down one of the beautiful streets in downtown St. Augustine. As I was driving, I looked to my right and saw a bumper sticker that said, "Jesus save me from your followers." As I looked at this sticker, a wave of emotions flooded over me. I though to myself how can someone put something like that on their car. I got really upset with the gall of this person. As I drove on there was another wave of emotions that flooded over me and questions began to arise in my mind. What has happened to this person that they would put a bumper sticker like that on their car? How did some "Christian" hurt them? Then I began to remember the times that other "Christians" treated me as I me as if I was not a Christian and did not even know that God existed.I became very sad as I drove to the Post Office, because many times we so-called Christians misrepresent the name of Jesus. Several years ago a friend, Tom Pelton, preached a sermon and said that Christians have so misrepresented the name of Jesus and not acted like Jesus that he believed that Jesus was crying out to reclaim His name. He wants it back! Have you ever misrepresented Jesus? Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone misrepresenting Jesus? If we were truly honest with ourselves we can all say that at some point in time we have misrepresented the name of Jesus.Over the neve few days I will explore how we misrepresent His name.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

What would happen in St. Augustine if we really took the Gospel seriously? What would happen if we truly became outward focused and not inward focused?

As a pastor, so much of our work is inward focused on how to pastor the people that God has given to us. But if we raised up people to take the Gospel outside of our four walls, what a change that would make. If we began to see that Jesus said the "field is the world" and not the church we would begin to reach out. It's time to reach out beyond the walls of our church and get into the marketplace.

Jesus was always around sinners. We who are pastors so often are never around sinners or where they are. We sit inside our offices and wait for them to come to us. Let us get out of our offices and get among the people.

Friday, August 25, 2006

I have just begun to read "The Day I Died" by Steve Sjogren. Steve was the Lead Pastor at the Vineyard Church in Cincinnati. He when in to have his gall bladder removed and the doctors cut his aorta and he died on the table. By the grace of God he was brought back from death and began a long recovery process. Because of the accident his lifestyle had to change. He states that he was a hare but now he is a turtle. Super book. Quick read but will bring conviction to those of us who are achievers.